DAY 8: Tuesday, July 14

From Christine Purcell

Not surprisingly, there is a huge amount of hype, anxiety and confusing press around Resolution D025, now passed in amended form by the House of Deputies. Your deputation met on Monday evening to debrief a little with one another and with Bishop Baxter, and what follows is a sense of what we collectively understand it to mean.


The resolution’s purpose was to clarify the stance of The Episcopal Church in light of the Windsor Report and the discussions concerning its place in the larger Anglican Communion, more particularly with respect to GC2006 B033, which was passed in the closing minutes of the General Convention of 2006. You remember that B033 called on Bishops and Standing Committees to exercise restraint in the consent to an election to the episcopate of a candidate “whose manner of life” might cause concern to the rest of the Anglican Communion.

The first four “resolves” of D025 reaffirm the Episcopal Church’s participation in the Anglican Communion, in terms of encouraging participation in the instruments of communion, financial support and the shared listening process to which all committed in the last three Lambeth Conferences.

The fifth and sixth “resolves” address the integral role of gay and lesbian persons in the life of the Church, the Episcopal Church’s understanding that discernment to ordered ministry is a mystery, and that such process is governed for us by our Constitution and Canons.

The final “resolve” acknowledges that, in the light of Holy Scriptures, tradition, and reason, the church is not of one mind in the matters of human sexuality; that “Christians of good conscience disagree about some of these matters.”

Some individuals in both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops believe that D025 overturns or supersedes B033. The prevailing view among the bishops is that this is not so. That the reaffirmation of non-discrimination can exist side by side with a call to restraint for the sake of the greater good. And that D025, messy as it may seem, truthfully depicts the stance of The Episcopal Church at this particular moment.

Our own Bishop Baxter spoke of the importance of this honesty. In his comments on Monday night, he reflected on the incompatibility of baptism and bondage, referencing older conflict in the church over the full humanity and personhood of slaves, and likening it to the present struggle about the full implications of the baptism of GLBT persons. Now, as then, science changes, and theology grows.

In the days to come the conversation will continue. The Church needs time to assimilate what has happened here in Anaheim and see how it is woven into the larger tapestry of our common life. We urge your thoughtful reflection and faithful prayer for all God’s people as we love one another and work together in God’s unfolding future.

More from Gina Barrett

The House of Deputies experienced a moment of grace yesterday. We were nearing the end of our morning legislative session when a long line of people filed up to the podium. They were our ecumenical visitors, and they were introduced one by one. Rather than a speech (or several), we were treated to something else.

A Jewish cantor stepped up to the microphone and sang in Hebrew. It was a single voice, powerful and haunting, and it filled the entire room. As he finished, the cantor stepped back, and a Muslim stepped forward. His voice was equally powerful and haunting but in quite a different way. When the Muslim finished, an Episcopal priest came forward. He sang in English, and his song was beautiful.

What happened next was truly amazing. While the priest sang, the Muslim came forward and added his voice. Then the cantor joined in. They sang three separate “songs” which didn’t harmonize in a traditional way. And yet there was never any dissonance, any clash of pitch.

The entire House of 1000+ people sat there as chronos became kairos. It was a holy moment like none I’d ever experienced. In those three voices, I heard the voice of God.